Crapo Considers Group Approachto Endangered Species

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo is a man who firmly believes there's nothing
you can't solve with a chat.

Crapo orchestrated a new wilderness area in the Owyhees by
gathering around a table as many groups as were willing to talk
about it and hashing out a deal.

He's endorsed an attempt to bring water users of all stripes
together to solve the problems facing Idaho's largest underground
aquifer. And he's called for comprehensive talks to resolve the
problems facing Pacific Northwest salmon.

Now, he's considering applying his collaborative approach to an
even larger project. The Endangered Species Act could benefit from
a greater focus on group-based decision-making, he said Friday, and
he's considering pursuing the issue once his current ESA idea -- tax
credits for landowners -- reaches the finish line.

Ideally, the process would move "away from the sort of centralized
command and control enforcement approach to (focus) much more
broadly on creating consensus among groups," Crapo said, noting
that introducing the idea would depend on what Congress ends up
looking like after this fall's election.

As example, the senator offered up the partnership between state
agencies, local working groups and the federal government to help
the greater sage grouse, which U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
last month designated as a candidate species worth listing under
the ESA but precluded for now.

"The administration decided not to list (the bird)... in significant
part, based on the collaborative efforts to move it forward," Crapo
said.

He would insert more collaboration at every step of the process,
from listing to recovery. But he's also realistic about how much he
can alter the ESA's fundamental tenets. Though he can envision
splitting listing authority among more groups than just the
Interior secretary, that's probably not going to happen.

"The likelihood is that the lead agency will probably retain the
ultimate decision-making authority," he said.